MOOP\ FRONTISPIECE 




INDIAN NOTES 
AND MONOGRAPHS 

Edited by F. W. Hodge 




A SERIES OF PUBLICA- 
TIONS RELATING TO THE 
AMERICAN ABORIGINES 



ADDITIONAL MOUNDS OF DUVAL 
AND OF CLAY COUNTIES, 
FLORIDA 

MOUND INVESTIGATION ON THE EAST 
COAST OF FLORIDA 

CERTAIN FLORIDA COAST MOUNDS 
NORTH OF THE ST. JOHNS RIVER 

BY 

CLARENCE B. MOORE 
1896 ly 

NEW YORK 
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 
HE YE FOUNDATION 

1922 



t/tt 



3 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface 7 

Additional Mounds of Duval and of 

Clay Counties, Florida 9 

Low mound at Arlington, Duval county . . 9 

Human remains 10 

Earthenware 11 

Stone 15 

Shell 16 

Remarks * 16 

Two low mounds at South Jacksonville, 

Duval county 16 

Low mound at Point La Vista, Duval 

county 18 

Low mounds near Point La Vista, Duval 

county 22 

Mound A '.. 22 

Mound B 24 

Mound C 26 

Low mound at Mulberry Grove, Duval 

county 28 

Mound at Peoria, Clay county 32 

Mound Investigation on the East Coast 

of Florida 34 

Stone House mound, Volusia county 39 

Mound at Courtenay, Brevard county. . . 40 
Low mound at Courtenay, Brevard 

county 41 

Mound at De Soto, Brevard county 42 

Mound at Tropic, Brevard county 43 

Gleason mound, Brevard county 43 



INDIAN NOTES 



4 



FLORIDA MOUNDS 



PAGE 

Mounds near mouth of Banana river, 

Brevard county 47 

Mounds near St. Lucie river, Dade 

county . 48 

Florida Coast Mounds north of tee 

St. Johns River 49 

Low mound at the Sawpit, Duval county 50 
Low mound at Dr. Harrison's, Amelia 

island 51 

Mound south of Suarez Bluff, Amelia 

island 52 

Mound northeast of Suarez Bluff, Amelia 

island 53 

Light-house mound, Fernandina, Nassau 

county * 55 

Composition of mound 56 

Human remains 57 

Canine remains 59 

Earthenware 64 

Stone 65 

Shell 65 

Miscellaneous 67 

Copper 68 

Remarks 68 

St. Mary's River 68 

Notes 70 



INDIAN NOTES 





5 


ILLUSTRATIONS 
Plates 

PAGE 

Map of the St. Johns river from Doctor's 

I. Earthenware vessel with five compart- 
ments. Mound south of Point La 

Vista 27 

II. Outline view from above of vessel shown 

in Plate 1 27 

Figures 

1. Tobacco pipe of earthenware. Low 

Mound at Point La Vista 21 

2. Plan of mounds south of Point La Vista. 23 

3. Earthenware vessel with incised decora- 

tion. Mound at Mulberry Grove. ... 30 

4. Ornament of silver. Gleason mound. . 45 

5. Ornament of brass. Gleason mound. . 45 

6. Section of mound uortheast of Suarez 

Bluff 55 




AND MONOGRAPHS 







7 


PREFACE 

During five months of the Fall of 1895 
and of the Winter of 1895-1896, mound in- 
vestigation was carried on by us in Florida 
with cumulative results in some cases, with 
negative results in others. 

Nothing new or of special interest re- 
warded our labors. 

Nevertheless, as our researches were 
made with great care and considerable 
thoroughness, it has seemed well to embody 
the results in a brief report. To our mind, 
it is the duty of one destroying an aboriginal 
landmark to see to it that the results, be 
they ever so" meagre, go on permanent 
record. 

C. B. M. 

June, 1896. 




INDIAN NOTES 







9 


ADDITIONAL MOUNDS OF DUVAL 
AND OF CLAY COUNTIES, 
FLORIDA 

Mound at Arlington. 

Mounds at South Jacksonville (2). 

Mound at Point La Vista. 

Mounds South of Point La Vista (3). 

Mound at Mulberry Grove. 

Mound at Peoria. 

Low Mound at Arlington, Duval 
County 

About three miles below Jacksonville, 
on the opposite side of the St. Johns, at 
Arlington, on the property of William 
G. Matthews, Esq., of Philadelphia, was a 
low mound in pine woods. We are in- 

Hphtprl tn W TT Wilcmn T^«;n in wlinQP 

U.CULCL1 LU VV • J-X. VV 115U11, ±jov|.j 111 WllUoC 

charge the estate is, for permission to 
investigate. 




INDIAN NOTES 





10 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




This mound was not considered of ab- 
original origin by the inhabitants of the 
neighborhood and had sustained no previous 
investigation though it gave evidence of 
cultivation in former times; its height 
of two feet, at the time of our investigation, 
was probably considerably less than its 
original altitude. Its shape was irregular, 
its major and minor axes being respectively 
57 feet and 36 feet. 

It was totally demolished. 

It was composed of yellow sand with 
the usual admixture of charcoal. 

HUMAN REMAINS 

Human remains were encountered at 
twenty-five points, some as deep as 
3 feet from the surface, beginning at the 
very margin of one portion of the mound. 
Bones were in the last stage of decay, 
but minimum portions of the skeleton 
being represented — at times parts of the 
cranium alone and again small pieces of 
bone almost too fragmentary for indenti- 
fication. 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


11 


EARTHENWARE 

Sherds were present in great quantities, 
the majority undecorated, though some bore 
the complicated stamps found in Georgia 
and in Carolina. Two had the stamp 
familiar in Florida, consisting of small 
diamonds. 

The material of all the ware present in 
the mound, with the exception of certain 
fragments, was very inferior. 

There were present numerous sherds 
showing separation from the vessel, not 
by a clean break but by the aid of a pointed 
implement, and a number of vessels had 
pieces removed from the margin by the 
agency of pointed tools. We have before 
referred to this peculiar custom as occurring 
in Duval County mounds and occasionally 
in other parts of Florida. 

At several points in the mound were 
nests of fragments of earthenware. 

In the northwestern margin of the mound, 
together, just below the surface, with a 
deposit of charcoal but apparently with 
no human remains, were two tobacco pipes 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





I 



12 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




of earthenware, of the usual type found 
in the mounds of Duval County, where 
the orifice for the stem often equals in 
size the aperture of the bowl. 

This type, probably in vogue before 
White contact, is present in the stone- 
graves of Tennessee. We have elsewhere 
found tobacco pipes of much more modern 
appearance in mounds containing objects 
essentially European. 

In loose sand was another tobacco pipe 
in appearance similar to the foregoing. 

In the northeastern margin, 15 feet 
down, with fragmentary human remains 
1 foot below, was a small undecorated 
bowl with a perforation in the base, made 
previous to baking. This was the only 
occurrence in the mound of ready-made 
mortuary ware. For the benefit of those 
not familiar with our previous Reports on 
the Florida mounds, we may say that it 
was the custom in that State, often to 
knock out the bottom, or to make a hole 
through the bottom, of earthenware vessels, 
previous to inhumation with the dead and 
that this custom is believed to have been 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


13 


practised with the idea that the mutilation 
"killed" the vessel, freeing its soul to 
accompany that of its owner into the next 
world. Apparently, however, it entered 
the minds of the more thrifty among the 
aborigines that vessels of value might 
serve a better purpose, and hence there 
arose a class of ceremonial ware, usually 
small in size, often of fantastic design and 
always of flimsy material, with bases per- 
forated during the process of manufacture. 
This cheap ware was probably kept on hand 
and did duty for vessels more valuable and 
less readily spared. 

One and one-half feet below the surface, 
about 4 feet in from the northwestern 
margin, was a small globular vessel of 
ordinary type, undecorated, intact as to 
the base, with perforations for suspen- 
sion below the margin on either side. 
Xo human remains were found in the 
neighborhood. 

About 5 feet in from the western margin, 

n nr] / f <2k<2i f- r\p* 1 r\t~KT f- n o enrfo rfl Tr r i'f~n ri r\ nnm on 
dilU. L. led UclvJW lilt bUIldtt, Willi ilU ilU.illd.il 

remains in proximity, were two undeco- 
rated bowls, each with a maximum diameter 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





14 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




of about 6 inches. Both showed perforation 
of the base made after manufacture. 

A globular vessel of somewhat over 
one quart capacity lay about 9 feet in 
from the northeastern margin and 1.5 
feet below the surface. It was undecorated 
save for a raised band around the inverted 
rim. With it were the greater part of a 
small undecorated vessel of ordinary type 
and various artifacts. Human remains 
were in association. Within the vessel 
were two pebbles; fragments of marine 
univalves; decaying portions of mussel 
shells; a worked object of shell resembling 
an imperforate cylindrical bead; and a 
bit of coquina. 

At a number of other points were vessels, 
some of about one gallon capacity, all 
undecorated and of most inferior ware. 
In nearly every case was perforation of the 
base made after the completion of the vessel. 
Nearly all were to a certain extent imper- 
fect, some being crushed to numerous 
fragments. 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


15 


STOXE 

Five hatchets of the usual type, some 
showing considerable breakage, came from 
various points in the mound, none deeper 
than three feet. 

In sand dyed red with Hematite, near 
human remains, were several mussel shells; 
one small bit of sandstone; a pentangular 
slab of red sandstone with a maximum 
length of 7.5 inches, a maximum width of 

7 inches, a thickness of 3 inches; a "celt" 

8 inches in length. 

Four arrowheads came from different 
depths. With one was a pebble hammer 
of quartz. 

About 2.5 feet from the surface, together, 
were fragments of lower animal bones; 
pebbles; a bit of quartz; fragments of 
marine shell; and several bits of chert 
rudely worked to resemble the arrowhead 
but too imperfect to be of service for any 
but sepulchral purposes. 

Variously associated throughout the 
mound were a number of sheets of mica; 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





16 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




pebble hammers; pebbles 5 several bits of 
chert and hones of sandstone. 




SHELL 




Upon several occasions fragments of 
mussel shells, probably whole at the time 
of interment, lay with human remains 
and with artifacts. 

In one instance, with human remains 
and other objects, was the columella of 
a marine univalve neatlv worked to a 
blunt point at either end. 




REMARKS 




This mound closely resembles many 
other low mounds of Duval County in the 
presence of abundant earthenware, of 
tobacco pipes of prehistoric pattern, of 
mica and of pebbles. 

Nothing in the mound indicated acquain- 

LdiiL-C Willi LiiC ^Ji UUUL LIS Ui _L/U.iUJLJC. 




Two Low Mounds at South Jackson- 
ville, Duval County 




These two mounds, almost contiguous, 
were on property belonging to the Hendricks 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


17 


estate. The ground, destined for building 
purposes, has been cleared and has evi- 
dently been under cultivation. 

The smaller mound, circular in shape, 
had a height of 1 foot 8 inches, a base 
diameter of 52 feet. The mound had 
evidently been greatly spread out and a 
good portion of its contents doubtless 
scattered. The central portion was dug 
through, resulting in the discovery of a 
few sherds and here and there fragments 
of human remains. 

The larger mound was irregular in shape; 
its major and minor axes being respectively 
72 feet and 50 feet. Its height was 3 
feet 3 inches. Its general appearance 
called to mind the low mound at Floral 
Bluff, Duval County, and the largest of 
the low mounds south of the great Grant 
mound, where our investigation was so 
richly rewarded. Our hopes in respect to 
this mound, however, were doomed to 
disappointment, for mound work is a 

lnffpy'V' wnprp hlonlrc 1 dvorpl'x?" nfPnnmmntp 
lULLClj Vv 11C1 C UlcLIiiS.D IdlgClV ^Jl CLiUIlllllcl LC. 

The central portion of the mound was 
entirely dug through, yielding one inter- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





18 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




ment badly decayed and apparently pre- 
viously disturbed. A few sherds with 
complicated stamped decoration were met 
with. 

Low Mound at Point La Vista, Duval 
County 

Point La Vista, on the eastern bank of 
the St. Johns, is about four miles above 
Jacksonville. 

In a cultivated field about one-half 
mile in a northerly direction from the 
landing was a mound much reduced in 
height by the plow. Its diameter of base, 
at the time of its total demolition by us, 
was 55 feet; its height, 2 feet 4 inches. 
The mound at the central portion had a 
thickness of 5 feet between the surface 
and where the sand ceased to show an 
admixture of charcoal, that is to say about 
2.5 feet above the level of the surrounding 
territory and an equal distance below it. 
Yellow sand with no traces of charcoal 
or sherds, marked the bottom of the mound 
and into this again certain small pits had 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


19 


been dug, as was shown by the darker 
color of the sand employed to fill them. 

Somewhat below the level of the sur- 
rounding territory was a stratum over 
one foot in thickness of sand blackened 
by fire, containing abundant particles of 
charcoal. Above this layer were brown 
sand and white sand intermingled at places, 
surmounted by a stratum of cherry-colored 
sand owing its tint to the use of Hematite, 
of irregular thickness — averaging, perhaps, 
1 foot. This bright colored stratum lay 
beneath a superficial layer of brownish 
sand about 1 foot in thickness. 

Interments were in considerable num- 
bers — between thirty and forty — and in the 
last stage of decay, some in fact so far gone 
that the method of burial was not deter- 
mined, but in all cases where sufficient evi- 
dence remained the burial in anatomical 
order was indicated. 

Quantities of sherds were in every portion 
of the mound; some plain, others with 
punctate decoration, and others again 
bearing the square or the diamond-shaped 
stamp common to Florida ware. Intricate 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





20 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




stamped decoration, prevalent in Georgia 
and present in many mounds of Duval 
County, was not met with. 

About 3 feet from the surface was a 
bowl of approximately one gallon capacity, 
of ordinary type, bearing the square stamped 
decoration. The bottom had been inten- 
tionally knocked out. No human remains 
were discovered in the immediate neigh- 
borhood. 

In a pocket of brownish sand, extending 
into the untouched sand below the mound, 
seemingly a small grave, over 5 feet from 
the surface, in the central portion of the 
base, with human remains, was an undec- 
orated earthenware pipe (Fig. 1) of the 
usual type of the mounds of Duval County. 

A curious earthenware knob, evidently 
broken from some vessel, lay in the sand. 

Two polished hatchets were met with, 
one with human remains, 6 inches from 
the surface, the other in caved sand. 

On a fireplace 5 feet from the surface 
wprp cprtain honps of thp dppr 

Several chips of chert, a rude implement 
of chert, a hone of sandstone and two 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


21 


chert arrowheads, were found separately 
in the sand. 

Loose in the sand were several conchs, 
a number of oyster-shells and the columella 
















Fig. 1. — Tobacco pipe of earthenware. Low Mound at 
Point La Vista. (Length over curve, 5| in.) 

of a large marine univalve worked to a 
point. 

As this portion of Florida has been long 
under cultivation, it is impossible to say 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





22 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




what artifacts may have been removed by 
the plow in previous years. 

Low Mounds near Point La Vista, 
Duval County 

Partly on the property of Mr. Shad, 
resident near by, and of Mrs. J. R. Hunter, 
of Albany, N. Y., about one mile in a 
southerly direction from Point La Vista, 
were three low intersecting mounds (Fig. 2) 
all showing signs of former cultivation. 
By arrangement with Mr. Shad, and with 
kind consent of George M. Wyeth, M. D., 
of Jacksonville, in charge of the Hunter 
property, these mounds were totally dug 
through at a depth of three to four feet 
below the level of the surrounding territory. 

They contained the usual charcoal and 
many fireplaces and were composed of 
yellowish-brown sand unstratified. 

Mound A, Diameter of base, 29 feet; 
height, 2 feet 5 inches. 

No skeletal remains were encountered 
until the central portion of the mound was 
reached when small fragments of mould- 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


23 


ering human bones were met with at four 
different points, from one foot to three 
feet nine inches from the surface. No 
artifacts were in association save in one 
instance when a small stone "celt" lay 
near bones. 

JfV Hi 

if c f 

'<0U # -# % 

Fig. 2. — Plan of mounds south of Point La Vista 

With the exception of a nest of many 
fragments of earthenware, in the southern 
margin, sherds were infrequent. Certain 
fragments of earthenware were undecorated, 
while others bore a complicated stamped 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





24 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




decoration, several of these being addition- 
ally decorated with crimson pigment — 
the hrst occurrence in our experience of 
the combined ornamentation. 

Four small arrowheads, too rude for 
aught save mortuary deposits, were found 
separately. A bit of chert came from a 
depth of 5 feet. 

Singly were: one pebble-hammer; one 
rude piercing implement of chipped chert 
and one pebble about 2 by 2.5 inches by 
one inch in thickness, worked into an 
oblong shape with rounded corners. 

Mound B. Diameter of base, 52 feet; 
height. 2 feet 1 inch. In this mound inter- 
ments, consisting, as in the other, of mould- 
ering fragments, were met with at six 
different points. 

Three and one-half feet from the surface, 
with human remains, were: one bit of 
chipped chert; a few marine mussel shells; 
a piece of sandstone; part of a columella 
of a marine univalve; and a small Fid guv 
carica with a hole knocked through one 
side. These all lay in a pocket of sand dyed 
scarlet with red oxide of iron. 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


25 


Also in the scarlet sand, 4.5 feet from 
the surface, with a few bits of human 
bone, were: a small sheet of mica; a smooth- 
ing stone of chert; a perforated Fulgur 
and several molars and incisors and one 
canine of some carnivore. 

A streak of red sand beneath a seam of 
charcoal led to a large cockle shell (Cardium) 
badly decayed, and a small vessel of earth- 
enware with two compartments and a 
handle on either end, very similar in type 
to one taken by us from the Hop son mound. 
Lake County, and figured by us (pi. 
lxxxv, fig. 2) in our Report on the 
mounds of the Ocklawaha river. Appar- 
ently no human remains were with these 
objects. 

A small imperforate undecorated bowl 
of ordinary type lay one foot from the 
surface with fragments of parts of a large 
undecorated clay vessel, near human 
remains. 

Three feet from the surface, apparently 
unassociated with skeletal remains, were 
portions of a vessel of about six quarts 
capacity, with complicated stamped deco- 




A N D MONOGRAPHS 





26 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




ration. The base showed perforation 
after manufacture. 

Several pebble-hammers lay singly loose 
in the sand, 

Mound C. Diameter of base, 58 feet; 
height, 2 feet 2 inches. Human remains, 
mere fractional parts of the skeleton, pre- 
sent at ten different points, were confined 
to the southern portion and the eastern 
margin of the mound. 

Three feet, eight inches from the surface, 
in the southern margin, with several large 
shell beads and one small shell (Marginella) 
longitudinally pierced, were portions of a cra- 
nium of a child about nine years of age; 
also several molars and one vertebra. 
In the vicinity lay a hatchet of polished 
stone. 

Together were: three pebble-hammers, 
one pitted on one side and neatly rounded; 
one small pebble; a cutting implement of 
chipped chert, 6 inches in length, possibly 
incomplete; several conchs (Fulgur carica) 
badly decayed, perforated in the body 
whorl opposite the aperture; bits of col- 
umellas of large marine univalves; several 




INDIAN NOTES 




4 



DUVAL COUXTY 



27 



mussel shells, fragmentary through decay; 
and what decay had spared of one piercing 
implement of bone. All these lay with 
human remains in the eastern margin of 
the mound, about 3 feet from the surface. 

In close proximity to the deposit just 
described were human remains at about 
the same depth. With them were one 
lance head, two arrowheads and eleven 
chips, all of chert. 

In various parts of the mound were nests 
of many fragments of various vessels, 
buried in close contact, as we have described 
elsewhere as present in numbers of low 
mounds of Duval County. 

Three and one-"nalf feet from the sur- 
face, beginning almost at the southern 
margin and extending in for about 6 feet, 
was a large log or several smaller ones 
pressed together with lines of separation 
no longer distinguishable, in the last stage 
of decay. The upper surface was consid- 
erably charred. 

About 5 feet in from the southern margin 
and 1 foot, 8 inches from the surface, un- 
associated with human remains, was a 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



28 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




vessel of heavy earthenware, unique so 
far as our experience extends. This in- 
teresting vessel, entirely intact, consists 
of four irregular compartments joined 
together on the same plane. From their 
point of union a fifth compartment rises 
as shown in Plates I and II. 

We are indebted to Professor Holmes 
for a sketch of a five-chambered vessel 
about 5.25 inches square, from a mound 
in Franklin County, Florida. The central 
compartment is not raised above the other 
four, as is the case in our specimen, but is 
on the same plane and surrounded by 
them. Various high authorities consulted 
by us express ignorance of the discovery 
within the limits of the United States of 
five-chambered vessels other than the two 
here recorded. 

Nothing in these mounds gave any evi- 
dence of intercourse with the Whites. 

Low 7 Mound at Mulberry Grove, 
Duval County 

About ten miles south of Jacksonville, on 
the west bank of the St. Johns, is the estate 




INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


29 


of A. M. Reed, Esq., known as Mulberry 
Grove. We are particularly indebted to 
Mr. Reed for permission to investigate 
his mound inasmuch as it was under culti- 
vation at the time of our visit. The mound 
is reported to have been ploughed down 
for thirty years and materially reduced 
in height. Its diameter of base was 46 
feet; its height, 2 feet. 

A central excavation, 32 feet in diameter 
(and this, we think, included the original 
mound) was carried through at a depth of 
about 5 feet. The mound was of brown 
sand, unstratified, and contained great 
numbers of fireplaces with charcoal. The 
form of burial, with one exception, was 
in anatomical order, about two dozen 
skeletons being met with, all much decayed. 
The crania were also badly crushed. About 
2.5 feet from the surface was a heap of 
calcined human bones with charcoal. 

Some of the crumbling skeletons lay 
at a depth of 5 feet from the surface. 

Sherds were infrequent and probably of 
accidental introduction. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





30 



FLORIDA MOUNDS 



With a skeleton, 3.5 feet from the sur- 
face, were two vessels of earthenware and 
a pipe of the same material. The larger 
vessel lay on its side across the right fore- 




Fig. 3. — Earthenware vessel with incised decoration. 
Mound at Mulberry Grove, (i size.) 

arm; the smaller vessel, on its base, with 
the tobacco pipe, was on the right hand 
side of the cranium. Beneath the skull, 
were two piercing implements of bone. 



INDIAN NOTES 



DUVAL COUNTY 


31 


Both vessels are virtually intact and im- 
perforate as to their bases. Each has a 
small hole on either side beneath the margin, 
for suspension. The larger has two incised 
parallel lines beneath the margin of the 
opening. Its dimensions are approximately : 
height, 4.5 inches; maximum diameter, 
3.25 inches; across mouth, 2.5 inches. 
The smaller vessel, almost cylindrical 
(Fig. 3), has an interesting incised decora- 
tion. Approximate measurements: height, 
4.25 inches; maximum diameter, at mouth, 
2.75 inches; at base, or minimum diameter, 
2.25 inches. 

Five feet down, near a fragmentary 
skull, were one arrowhead and twenty-six 
small fragments of chert. We have before 
made reference in our paper on certain 
mounds in Duval County to the placing 
of numbers of such fragments together 
in the mounds. 

In another portion of the mound, at 
about the same depth as the previously 
mentioned deposit, with human remains, 
were eleven small bits of chert and one 
shell gouge. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





32 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




Near the surface as it was at the period 
of excavation, lay a small "celt" with 
human remains. 

Loose in the sand were several bits of 
chert and a portion of a polished stone 
hatchet, found separately. 

What this mound may have contained 
at the period of its abandonment, it is, 
of course, impossible to say. Nothing 
discovered by us pointed to intercourse 
with the Whites. 

Mound at Peoria, Clay County 

Doctor's Lake has its union with the St. 
Johns at Orange Park about sixteen miles 
south- of Jacksonville, on the west side of 
the river. About six miles in from the 
mouth of the lake, almost at its extremity, 
is the settlement of Peoria. In the out- 
skirts of Peoria, on the property of Mr. 
J. A. Silcox, was a mound 4 feet 2 inches 
high, and 75 feet across the base. It had 
sustained very little previous examination, 
but its height had been greatly diminished 
by washing down of sand and trampling 




INDIAN NOTES 



CLAY COUNTY 


S3 


of cattle, which, at the same time, had 
increased its diameter. 

At the time of our previous mound work 
on the St. Johns we were unable to come 
to terms with the owner of this mound, 
the location of which, however, is noticed 
in our Report. 

The mound was totally demolished. 
It was composed of brownish sand, with 
the usual intermingling of charcoal. 

About 5 feet down from the level of 
the summit a thin, irregular layer of dark 
sand and charcoal ran through the mound. 

Less than one dozen interments were 
encountered, and these were represented 
by mouldering fragments. 

Sherds were very infrequent, all coming 
under our notice being undecorated save 
one having the ordinary square stamp. 

Throughout the mound were several 
whole and fragmentary arrow points, 
three pebbles, a bit of chert and a piece 
of mica. 

Four and one-half feet from the surface, 
with very fragmentary human remains, 
lay fourteen arrow points. 




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34 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




Almost in the immediate center of the 
mound, 2.5 feet from the surface,, was a 
concavo-convex ornament of sheet copper, 
1.4 inches by 1.2 inches, having a narrow 
margin beaded in the fashion so common 
in the mound ornaments of copper. 

Nothing further of interest was encoun- 
tered. 

MOUND INVESTIGATION ON THE 
EAST COAST OF FLORIDA 

Our investigation of aboriginal mounds 
on the east coast of Florida, south of St. 
Johns County, occupying three months of 
the Winter of 1895-1896, included such 
territory as borders the Halifax river; 
the Hillsboro' river, including the Mosquito 
lagoon; the Indian river and Lake Worth; 
as well as the tributary streams, Tomoka 
creek, Spruce creek, Banana river and St. 
Lucie river. 

In addition, certain. mounds in the neigh- 
borhood of the town of Fernandina were 
examined and the St. Mary's river, separa- 
ting portions of Florida and of Georgia, 




INDIAN NOTES 



EAST COAST 


35 


was gone over so far as the head of naviga- 
tion. To this work additional time was 
devoted. 

The Halifax, Hillsboro' and Indian rivers, 
so-called, are not rivers strictly speaking, 
but long and comparatively narrow stretches 
of salt water, connected with the Atlantic 
Ocean by various inlets and separated 
from the sea by a comparatively narrow 
strip of sand, at no place five miles in 
breadth. They extend north and south 
and their total length in a direct line is 
about 187 miles. 

The Banana river is simply a portion of the 
Indian river, lying east of Merritt's Island. 

Tomoka and Spruce creeks and St. 
Lucie river, at a certain distance above 
their outlets, are fresh water streams. 

The aboriginal mounds bordering the 
Halifax, Hillsboro' and Indian rivers, while 
examined with considerable care, were by 
no means so exhaustively investigated by 
us as have been the mounds of the St. Johns 
river and of other parts of Florida, and our 
conclusions must not be regarded as final 
but rather taken as indications. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





36 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




It would seem that the mounds of this 
region, considerable in number and some 
of great size, were mostly erected for other 
than sepulchral purposes, inasmuch as 
human remains appear to be absent from 
the bodies of the mounds though in some 
cases numerous interments were present 
near the surface, sometimes associated with 
art relics of European manufacture, such 
as glass beads, silver beads and the like. 1 
These burials we look upon as intrusive, 
made by Indians coming later than the 
makers of the mounds. 

In certain cases smaller mounds contained 
human remains down to the base, but 
in every case these remains, where any 
other objects were found at all, were asso- 
ciated only with bits of shell or of coquina. 

Mr. Andrew E. Douglass, of the Museum 
of Natural History, New York, who has 
spent a number of seasons on the east 
coast and has published various valuable 
papers descriptive of his work, 2 reached 
virtually the same conclusions as our- 
selves, and we are strongly of opinion that 
a more thorough investigation of these 




INDIAN NOTES 



EAST COAST 


37 


mounds, though earnestly to be desired, 
will not be fruitful of results. 

Another point strongly impressing itself 
upon us was the almost entire absence of 
stone (unless coquina 3 may be so termed) 
in the territory bordering the Halifax, 
the Hillsboro' and the Indian rivers, the 
mounds being entirely free from chips, 
cores, and other refuse material of chert so 
abundant in mounds of the St. Johns river. 

Large fields of shell, denoting aboriginal 
dwelling sites, are numerous, yet upon 
them we found not a single arrowhead 
or fragment of hard stone, while persons 
cultivating these fields invariably expressed 
ignorance as to the discovery of stone upon 
them. Upon similar fields and shell heaps 
of the St. Johns arrowheads and flint chips 
are abundant; this absence of stone on 
the east coast is certainly worthy of remark 
considering its comparative abundance on 
a river not over thirty, and at one point 
only five, miles away. 

Mr. Douglass has remarked the absence 
on the east coast of the polished stone 
hatchet, or "celt," from mounds south of 




AND M ONOGRAPHS 





38 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




St. John County, or about where the Hali- 
fax river begins, and we have not in our 
experience learned of the occurrence of 
this implement on the east coast south 
of the point referred to by him, though on 
the St. Johns river a number were taken 
by us from Thursby Mound, about twenty- 
seven miles farther south, while one small 
hatchet was found on the surface not far 
north of Lake Monroe. Beyond this 
point, even on the St. Johns, the stone 
"celt" seemed to be absent with the ex- 
ception of one rude cutting implement of 
the polished "celt" type 4 taken by us from 
the island shell heap known as Mulberry 
Mound, situate where the St. Johns river 
leaves Lake Poinsett, about six miles west 
of Cocoa on the Indian river. 

As we have said, exhaustive work was 
not done by us on the east coast and as 
various lists of the earthworks of that 
section have already appeared, we shall 
not go into a detailed account but shall 
give results obtained in certain of the 
mounds examined by us which, so far as 




INDIAN NOTES 



EAST COAST 


39 


our investigation has extended, were typical 
of the whole. 

Stone House Mound. 

Mounds at Courtenay (2). 

Mound at De Soto. 

Mound at Tropic. 

Gleason Mound. 

Low Mounds near mouth of Banana 

river (2). 
Mound near St. Lucie river. 

Stone House Mound, Volusia County 

Spruce Creek enters the Halifax river 
opposite the town of Ponce Park. About 
1 mile up Spruce Creek, turning into Mur- 
ray's Creek and following the stream 
about 1 mile, the Murray dwelling is reached, 
from which the mound is distant about 
1.5 miles inland, in a southwesterly direction. 
The mound, in thick ''hammock/ ' and 
covered with palmetto and other trees, has 
a height of 20 feet, a diameter at base of 
144 feet. The trench made by Mr. Andrew 
E. Douglass, 5 was the only previous in- 
vestigation apparent on the mound. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





40 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




Parts of two days, with nine men to 
dig, were devoted to investigation. Neither 
burial nor artifact rewarded our labors — a 
result similar to that attained by Mr. 
Douglass. 

Two feet beneath the surface, such parts 
of the mound as were dug into by us, were 
encased in heavy slabs of coquina. This 
curious feature was noted also by Mr. 
Douglass in the portion investigated by him. 

Mound at Courtenay, Brevard County 

The settlement of Courtenay, on Mer- 
ritt's Island, which here forms the eastern 
shore of the Indian River, is about eight 
miles north of the town of Cocoa. 

On the property of Mr. John H. Sams, 
at Courtenay, is a mound which was cor- 
dially placed at our disposal for investiga- 
tion by the owner. The mound, entirely 
surrounded by a trench, presents a striking 
appearance, giving the impression of greater 
altitude than it really possesses. Its height 
is 11 feet; its diameter at base about 100 
feet, making allowance for a certain amount 
of sand evidently washed from the mound. 




INDIAN NOTES 



EAST COAST 


41 


An excavation 28 feet in diameter and 
from 5 to 6 feet deep, was made in the cen- 
tral portion of the mound. A few scattered 
human bones were present immediately 
below the surface. At a depth of 5 feet 
was a sherd of considerable size. Loose in 
the sand was one fragment of chipped chert. 
Beyond these, nothing was encountered 
and the sand, coarse and yellow, had the 
raw look peculiar to mounds containing 
no organic remains. 

Low Mound at Court e x a y , Brevard 
County 

In the southern extremity of the settle- 
ment of Courtenay, in thick ''hammock" 
land, on the property of Mr. H. J. Tiffin, 
of Montreal, Canada, was a mound about 
2 feet in height and 35 feet in diameter. 
The central portion of this mound was 
completely dug through at the courteous 
invitation of the owner. At two points 
were fragmentary human remains which, 
with one small sherd, were the entire yield 
of the mound. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





42 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




Mound at De Soto, Brevard County 

The Banana river, as we have stated, is 
simply a portion of the Indian river 
separated from the main body by Merritt's 
Island. On the east side of the river, 
about 7 miles south of its northern extremity, 
at or near De Soto, is the estate of Mr. 
F. Y. Hanna, an unoccupied house with a 
landing. About one-half mile in a north- 
easterly direction from the landing, on 
Mr. Hanna's property, is an irregular mass 
of sand 6 feet 4 inches in height and 75 
feet across the base. An excavation made 
in the center, 18 feet by 24 feet by 4 feet 
deep, yielded four burials in anatomical 
order, none over 18 inches from the surface. 
With one skeleton were two bits of looking- 
glass, with another was a fragment of 
conch-shell. About one foot from the 
surface were parts of an undecorated bowl. 
This mound, at a short distance below the 
superficial portion, was composed of that 
raw-looking bright yellow sand, in which, 
as we have stated, we have never yet met 
with interments. 




INDIAN NOTES 



EAST COAST 


43 


Mound at Tropic, Brevard County 

Near the southern extremity of Merritt's 
Island is the settlement of Tropic. On 
the property of Mr. M. F. Dwyer, of New 
York, in a cultivated pineapple patch, was 
a symmetrical mound of white sand, 3 feet 
8 inches in height and 48 feet across the base. 
It was practically demolished. No strati- 
fication was noticed. A considerable number 
of fragmentary human remains, very badly 
decayed, including a number of isolated 
crania, were present at all depths. A num- 
ber of bits of plain earthenware and several 
stamped in squares, were loose in the sand. 

Eight small shells (Dosinia discus) were 
found together, while masses of coquina and 
smaller bits were present in the mound. 
An occasional fragment of Fulgur was 
met with. Beyond this, greatly to our 
disappointment, for the mound had a 
very promising appearance, nothing was 
discovered. 

Gleason Mound, Brevard County 
On the eastern bank of the Banana river, 
a short distance above its union with 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





44 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




the Indian river, in full view from the water, 
is a great shell-heap mainly composed of 
the shells of marine bivalves (Dosinia 
discus), a section of which has been laid 
bare by the river. In the "scrub," about 
one-eighth of one mile in a northerly di- 
rection from this heap, is a mound on the 
property of ex-Governor Gleason, of Eau 
Gallie, who courteously placed it at our 
disposal. 

The mound, which is not symmetrical 
and had suffered from much superficial 
investigation, has a height of about 10 
feet and a diameter at base of about 150 
feet. 

The mound, which was thickly covered 
with undergrowth, was cleared by us near 
the center of the summit plateau, giving 
a space about 32 feet in diameter, which 
was dug through to a depth of from 5 to 7 
feet. In addition to this, considerable 
work was done on the northern and eastern 
slopes. 

Thp ^anrl whitish in rnlor wjm nn- 
stratified. 

Burials — all superficial and all in ana- 




INDIAN NOTES 



EAST COAST 


45 


tomical order — were numerous, about thirty 
being met with. 

With the majority of the bodies no rel- 
ics were found. With others were flat 
bits of coquina; portions of clam shells, 
showing wear, and occasionally a mass of 
coquina. 

Near human remains were three large 
glass beads and a round bead of silver, ap- 
parently of European make. 

ft M 

5 o 3 ^ =>0= ' °> 

Fig. 4.— Ornament of , Fig. 5 —Ornament of 
silver. Gleason mound. brass. Gleason mound. 
(1 size.) (2 size.) 

With a burial about two feet from the 
surface was a small gorget of silver, oxidized, 
having three perforations, two apparently 
made with a sharp cutting tool, the other 
bored from one side and countersunk 
(Fig. 4), representing the head of a duck. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





46 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




With another superficial burial, lying 
near the lower jaw, was a somewhat similar 
ornament of brass (Fig. 5). 

Ornaments of this type are not uncommon 
in Florida, though we have met with none 
on the St. Johns. 6 

Loose in the sand throughout the mound 
were a few bits of ornamented earthenware; 
one Fulgur. carica, much worn at the beak, 
but without the usual perforation; and one 
large marine shell (Fasciolaria). A con- 
siderable number of these shells, all more 
or less broken as to the body whorl, lay 
near previous excavations. 

Five feet from the surface were the 
remains of an undecorated bowl of consid- 
erable size, which had been interred w r hole 
or nearly so. No human remains were 
found in the neighborhood of this bowl, and 
it lay at a much greater depth than any 
other discovered by us. It had probably 
been lost or broken during the construction 
of the mound. 

From the eastern slope, with human 
remains, were taken two imperforate 
drinking cups of shell, one within the other; 




INDIAN NOTES 



EAST COAST 


47 


another alone; and two beads of silver seem- 
ingly of European workmanship. 

As no burials or indications of interment 
(and discoloration of sand usually shows 
where bones have been) w T ere met with in 
the Gleason mound at a depth of over 
2 feet, we are of opinion that later Indians 
utilized for burial a pre-existing mound. 

Mounds near Mouth of Banana River, 
Brevard County 

On the property of Mr. John Aspinwall, 
of New York, about ona-half mile south 
of the Gleason mound, 50 yards apart 
approximately, were two mounds in thick 
" scrub." 

The smaller mound, about 4 feet in 
height, was dug through as to the central 
portion, yielding a number of superficial 
burials of the bunched variety. With 
some of these were small bits of coquina 
and of shell. 

The larger mound, about 7 feet in height, 
yielded nothing to an investigation con- 
ducted through the central portion. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





48 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




Mounds near St. Lucie River, Dade 
County 

About one and one-half miles above 
the railroad bridge, or six and one-half 
miles, approximately, from the river's 
mouth, near the southern bank of the 
south fork of the St. Lucie River, is a 
mound in the pine woods in full view 
from the stream. 

Its height is about 6 feet above the 
general level on the south and west, while 
on the other two sides deep depressions, 
made by the removal of sand for the mound, 
give it the appearance of much greater 
altitude. 

The diameter of its base is about 80 
feet. 

A considerable section was dug out 
from near the margin to the center and 
the base of the central portion was care- 
fully explored. 

Several superficial burials were met with 
toward the center and two at different 
points about 3 feet from the surface 




INDIAN NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


49 


With the remains were no artifacts 
whatsoever. 

Loose in the sand, separately, were two 
fragments of undecorated earthenware, 
two bits of Hematite and a number of 
pieces of charcoal. 

At Spruce Bluff, up the north fork of 
the St. Lucie river, is a large mound which 
we did not investigate. Considerable dig- 
ging had been attempted in the central 
upper portions. Residents reported no 
discoveries during these investigations. 

FLORIDA COAST MOUNDS NORTH 
OF THE ST. JOHNS RIVER 

By turning into Sisters creek near the 
mouth of the St. Johns river, an inland 
passage by water can be made to Fernan- 
dina. This inland route has been carefully 
searched by us for mounds upon two 
occasions. 

Low mound at the Sawpit, Duval County. 

Low mound at Dr. Harrison's, Amelia 
Island, Nassau County. 

Mound south of Suarez Bluff, Amelia 
Island, Nassau County. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





50 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




Mound northeast of Suarez Bluff, Amelia 
Island, Nassau County. 

Light-house mound, Fernandina, Nassau 
County. 

Low Mound at the Sawpit, 
Duval County 

A small mound at the Sawpit, about 
10 miles north . of the St. Johns river, 4 
feet in height and 35 feet across the base, 
was completely dug through by us as to 
its central portion. A few crumbling skele- 
tons in anatomical order were discov- 
ered unassociated with any art relics what- 
soever. 

On the southern end of Talbot Island, 
Duval County, on the property of Mr. 
Spicer Houston, of Mayport, are two 
symmetrical sand mounds about one-half 
mile apart. This gentleman values the 
right to investigate at one thousand dollars 
and is still owner of undisturbed aboriginal 
earthworks. 




INDIAN NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


51 


Low Mound at Dr. Harrison's, Amelia 
Island 

On the property of Dr. Robert Harrison, 
about one-half mile in an easterly direction 
from his house, which overlooks the Amelia 
river at a point about one mile, in a southerly 
direction, from Suarez Bluff (Amelia City, 
Nassau County) was a mound 1.5 feet 
high and 30 feet across the base. It had 
sustained little if any previous investigation 
and was totally demolished by us. 

It was composed of yellowish sand with 
pockets of white sand, and through the 
central portion a layer of white sand several 
inches in thickness ran considerably below 
the level of the surrounding territory. 

Interments, probably a dozen in all. 
were, curiously enough, marginal and 
beneath the slope, no remains being met 
with in or near the central portion of the 
mound. Both forms of burial, the bunched 
and that in anatomical order, were present. 
In one case the remains were in part cal- 
cined, while other portions of the skeleton 
were charred in places only. No charcoal 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





52 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




or fire-whitened sand lay with these bones 
which consequently must have been exposed 
to flames elsewhere. 

A number of the burials lay beneath 
deposits of oyster shells. 

The remains were in much better state 
of preservation than is usually the case 
in the mounds. One skull, almost intact, 
was preserved. 7 

With two crania, at different points, 
were numbers of longitudinally perforated 
shells (Olivella). 

With human remains was found a portion 
of the shaft of a large pin of shell, showing 
recent fracture. The remaining part doubt- 
less escaped us. 

But two sherds were brought to our 
attention. 

Mound South or Suarez Blltf, Amelia 
Island 

In a large shell held about three-quarters 
of one mile in a southeasterly direction 
from Suarez Blurt, on property belonging 
to Mr. Scott of that place, was a mound 




I X D I A X NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


53 


6.5 feet high and 44 feet across the base. 
It had probably lost about 2 feet in height 
through previous investigation. 

The mound was built on a shell heap of 
irregular surface. A thickness of 6 feet of 
solid sand was at certain portions of the 
mound and scarcely 2 feet at others. 

About two-thirds of the mound was dug 
down. 

Nineteen burials, from 1 to 6 feet from 
the surface, all in anatomical order, were 
discovered. 

Occasional pockets of sand colored with 
Hematite were near the base. A few bits 
of pottery lay loose in the sand and at one 
point were fifteen marine univalves (Fulgur 
carica, Fulgur penersum, Fascwlaria). A 
few shell beads, lying with a skeleton, 
were the only artifacts discovered. 

Mound Northeast of Suarez Bluee, 
Amelia Island 

About 1.5 miles from Suarez Bluff was 
a mound 5 feet 2 inches in height with a 
diameter at base of 68 feet. About one- 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





54 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




half of this mound, which was kindly 
placed at our disposal by Mr. Jonathan 
Buzzell of Suarez Bluff, or Amelia City, 
as it is now called, was demolished by us. 
It was composed of yellowish sand with 
little, if any, intermingling of charcoal, 
A layer of oyster shells and midden refuse, 
such as fragments of bones of the turtle 
and of the deer, but apparently with no 
sherds, occupied a central position in the 
mound. This deposit began about 18 
feet from the margin and was then a little 
over 2 feet from the surface, and apparently 
so throughout. Its thickness was about 
2 feet (see diagram), increasing toward 
the center. There were no oyster shells 
in the marginal portion of the mound. 

At one point in the marginal, or sandy 
portion, 1.5 feet from the surface, was a 
deposit of calcined fragments of bone, 
some belonging to the turtle. This mound 
was evidently not a shell heap covered with 
sand, since the mass of shells, when en- 
countered, did not present a sloping sur- 
face but showed an abruptly vertical sur- 
face 2 feet in height, very much as though 




INDIAN NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


55 


the shells had been thrown 
into an excavation. 

No human remains or art / 
relics, with the exception of / 
one arrow head, were met / , 
with. / 

/ d 

Light-house Mound, p ^ 
Fernandina, Nassau county / :'m - g 

/ $1 ^ 

The Light-house 8 mound, in ^ | 
a shell field and in the neigh- IS 1 
borhood of others, about 150 § 
yards south of the light-house, 1 
probably one mile east of the ' : f|IL. 3, 
town of Fernandina, was ||| g 
kindly placed at our disposal V J £ 
by Mr. E. D. Lukenbill of \ 1 7 
the Fernandina Development \ ^ ^ 
Company. Our thanks are \ £ 
tendered for numerous court- V 
esies also to Mr. H.L. Linville, \ 
port warden of Fernandina. V 

The height of the mound, ' 
which was totally demolished 
by us, was 12 feet; the 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





56 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




diameter of its base, 75 feet. It presented 
a very symmetrical appearance when strip- 
ped of the dense growth of vegetation which 
covered it, the ascent at some points being 
at an angle of 44°. Excavations 3 to 4 
feet deep to the west and northwest of 
the base showed whence the material was 
derived. There had been some previous 
investigation on the immediate summit. 

COMPOSITION OF MOUND 

Structurally the mound was of consider- 
able interest, the strata well denned. Im- 
mediately in a central position was a cone 
of white sand, surrounded and surmounted 
by the regular strata of the mound. 

The stratification of the mound from 
the top downward, a little north of the 
center, was as follows: 

2 feet 6 inches — dirty brown sand. 

1 foot — dark sand with oyster shells. 

1 foot — pink sand mingled with oyster 
shells and with white sand. 

5 feet 8 inches — yellow sand. 

7 inches — dark sand and oyster shells. 




INDIAN NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


57 


2 feet — light sand to yellow sand of the 
base. 

At various points in the mound were 
pockets of sand artificially colored with 
Hematite. 

The distance between the summit of 
the mound at the center to the yellow sand 
at the base, where charcoal and human 
remains were wanting, was 15 feet. 

HUMAN REMAINS 

Exclusive of loose bits of bone, doubtless 
thrown from the previous excavation, 
seventy-four skeletons, all seemingly in 
anatomical order, were met with, and one 
deposit of charred and calcined human re- 
mains. We are, of course, unable to esti- 
mate the number of skeletons thrown out 
or carried away prior to our visit. The 
first interment was encountered 10 feet in 
from the southwestern margin of the base. 
With very few exceptions no art relics 
lay with human remains, and if we except 
a stone hatchet found with a skeleton 8 
feet from the surface and some beads of 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





58 


FLORIDA MOUXDS 




shell with another interment, no art relics 
were associated with burials in the body 
or on the base of the mound. 

In no previous mound work have we 
found so great a percentage of pathological 
specimens as in this mound, and, as ha? 
not been the case in other mounds, entire 
skeletons seemed affected, and not one or 
possibly two bones belonging to a skeleton. 
The pathological conditions were so marked 
and cranial nodes so apparent that, in 
view of the fact that no objects positively 
indicating White contact were discovered 
in the mound, though the utmost care was 
exercised by a trained corps of assistants, 
we are compelled to regard the bones with 
the greatest interest since evidence of 
contact with the whites being wanting 
we must look upon these bones as of pre- 
Columbian origin. We may state here 
that all bones preserved by us came from 
depths in the mound which insure their 
derivation from original burials. These 
bones, found 8 to 12 feet from the surface, 
and lying beneath numerous undisturbed 
layers are as unmistakably of an early origin 




INDIAN NOTES 



IXLAXD PASSAGE 



59 



as any yet described and much more reliable 
than most. 

Dr. Washington Matthews, whose mem- 
oir on the human bones of the Hemenway 
collection is so well known, has kindly con- 
sented to study and to report upon these 
bones from the Light-house mound. 



Perforation of the humerus 





Male 


Female 


Uncertain 




-r 
















u 


CJ 










"§ 

N 


?i 












o_ 




rfoi 




J 












^. 


- 


o 

ft 


Right 


3 


14 


4 


3 


4 


3 


Left 


3 


7 


6 


2 


3 


2 



Canine Remains 

Professor Wyman, as we have stated in 
a former paper, found no remains of dog 
during his researches among the shell 
heaps of the St. Johns river. In point 
of fact no practical work was done among 
the sand mounds by this pioneer of the 
archaeology of Florida. 



AND MONOGRAPHS 



60 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




In a shell-heap near the bank of the 
Econlockhatchee creek, Orange County, 
we discovered a canine lower jaw which 
Professor Cope minutely examined, giving 
his results, with figures, in the American 
Naturalist. 9 

Professor Cope concluded that the jaw 
under examination belonged to an unknown 
kind. 

A canine jaw from another shell-heap 
examined subsequently, presented features 
with which Professor Cope was unfamiliar. 

On the base of the large sand mound at 
Tick Island, Volusia County, 10 the skeleton 
of a dog was found by us, the skull and cer- 
tain other bones of which, forwarded to 
Professor Cope, were passed upon as follows 
by that eminent authority: "The bones you 
send are those of a dog but of what spe- 
cies I am not sure. It is no wolf or coyote 
but differs from ordinary breeds of domestic 
dogs. Nevertheless, it may be some form 
domesticated by the Indians, with which 
I am not familiar." 

Fifteen feet from the surface of the Light- 
house mound, or 3 feet below the level of 




INDIAN NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


61 


the surrounding territory, was discovered 
the skeleton of a dog. 

The cranium has been submitted to 
Dr. C. Hart Merriam, who was, unfortu- 
nately, unable to spare time for an exhaus- 
tive examination, being about to leave 
town for the summer. According to Dr. 
Merriam the skull is not that of a coyote, 
nor does it belong to any type of domestic 
dog with which he is familiar. 

Professor Cope is of opinion, after an 
examination of the skull, that it belongs 
to neither wolf nor coyote, but is probably 
that of a domestic dog, though by no means 
of necessity one obtained from Europeans. 

There are, however, according to Professor 
Cope, certain domestic dogs whose crania 
cannot be distinguished from those of wolves. 

Professor Cope also made an examination 
of a canine skull from the great shell deposit 
at Damariscotta, Maine, in which no arti- 
cles of European origin have ever been met 
with at a depth greater than a few inches 
from the surface. The Damariscotta skull, 
according to Professor Cope, strongly re- 
sembles that from the Light-house mound. 




AND MONOGRAPHS 





62 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




Professor Putnam, who has made a 
careful study of the skull from the Light- 
house mound, writes as follows: 

"I have lately secured for comparison 
several dog skulls, among which is that of a 
mongrel greyhound. This skull resembles 
that of the coyote more than it does the gray 
wolf. It differs from the coyote, however, in 
being slightly more convex. In the coyote 
the frontals are flatter than in the gray wolf. 

"I have a skull of an Irish setter which agrees 
with that of a gray wolf, except that it is 
slightly higher over the orbits, and there is more 
of a concavity along the union of the frontal 
bones. The jaws are also shorter, but the teeth 
are of about the same size. 

"I have the skull of an English collie which 
differs from the gray wolf in the same way as 
does the setter's skull; that is, the frontal bones 
are slightly more concave in the center and 
a little higher. The jaws are proportionately 
shorter than the jaws of the setter, and of course 
shorter than those of the wolf, and the molar 
teeth are proportionately smaller. 

"The skull of the collie agrees in size and 
height and convexity of the frontals with the 
nearly perfect skull I have from the Damaris- 
cotta shell-heap; it also agrees with the teeth 
with the exception that in my Damariscotta 
skull the second and third molars are slightly 
stouter and approach more nearly to the corre- 
sponding teeth of the setter. 




INDIAN NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


63 


"Thus, I should say that the Damariscotta 
shell-heap skull is very close to the English 
collie, and also very close to the gray wolf. This 
Damariscotta skull was found very low down in 
the great shell-heap, and it is unquestionably of 
prehistoric time, probably centuries before any 
white man reached this continent. There is, 
therefore, no possibility of its being a domestic 
dog brought over by the Whites. The close 
affinities, in its shape, with the setter, and thus 
with the gray wolf, lead me to regard it as a 
domestic dog of the people whose refuse formed 
that ancient shell-heap; probably a domesti- 
cated gray wolf, unless there was some now 
extinct species of the genus Cams from which 
this dog was derived, the only prominent 
difference being in the shorter jaws of the dog. 

"I have also three skulls from the ' ash-pits' 
of the ancient cemetery near Madisonville, 
Ohio. In the contents of about 1,500 of these 
ash-pits, which we have carefully examined, 
not a sign of White contact was found; and they 
are unquestionably of prehistoric time. These 
three skulls from the ash-pits are slightly smaller 
than the Damariscotta skull, but agree with it 
in every other particular. 

"I have examined two skulls (in the American 
Museum of Natural History) found with an 
Indian skeleton on Staten Island, New York. 
This burial-place is also of unquestionably pre- 
historic time. These two dog skulls are of 
about the same size as those from the Madison- 
ville cemetery, and are of the same character. 

"I have two skulls of dogs from the Lake 
Dwellings, at St. Aubin and Neufchatel, Switzer- 




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64 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




land, which agree in size with the three above- 
mentioned from the ash-pits at Madisonville, 
but differ from them in having the frontals 
slightly natter and in having the interparietal 
crest nearly obliterated. A fourth skull from 
the Madisonville ash-pits, smaller than the 
other three, agrees with these Swiss Lake 
skulls in the latter character. 

"I cannot distinguish any important differ- 
ence between the dog skull you found in the 
Florida mound and those from the Madison- 
ville ash-pits. 

"Thus your Florida skull, while it agreees 
very closely with the English collie, also agrees, 
as well, with the other dog skulls which are of 
unquestionably prehistoric time. The condi- 
tion of the bones indicates considerable antiquity 
and unless objects belonging to the Whites 
were found associated with the bones of the 
dog, or the bones themselves were found near 
the surface, and you have evidence that they 
belong to an intrusive burial, I should have 
no hesitation whatever in considering your 
Florida skull as that of a domestic dog of the 
people who built the mound." 

Three varieties of dog are found with the 
dead in the Necropolis of Ancon, Peru, one 
of which strongly resembles the collie. 11 

EARTHENWARE 

Sherds were infrequently met with, 
the majority being undecorated, though 




INDIAN NOTES 



INLAND PASSAGE 


65 


several from marginal parts of the mound 
bore cord-marked and stamped decora- 
tions. One bowl of about one pint ca- 
pacity, with incised marginal decoration, 
lay apparently unassociated on the base. 
It unfortunately received a blow from a 
spade. 

STONE 

In all, eight stone hatchets, or "celts," 
were met with, as a rule, in caved sand 
and probably from upper strata. One 
lay with a skeleton 3 feet from the surface. 
With it were two large barrel-shaped beads 
of shell. 

No arrow heads, whole or fragmentary, 
were met with, nor were any fragments of 
chert, so numerous in many mounds, ap- 
parently present in this one. 

SHELL 

Loose in the sand, separately, were 
two fine large marine shells (Fasciolaria), 
while at various depths were several heavy 
conchs (Fulgur carica) worn and chipped 
down at the beak and with a round or 




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66 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




oblong perforation opposite the aperture 
in the body-whorl between the shoulder 
and suture. 

It has been customary to regard such 
shells as having served as war clubs. We 
have elsewhere pointed out that in the 
great majority of cases they must have 
been put to other uses, and give here some 
of our reasons: 

1. The beak shows wear as by constant 
use. 

2. The margin of the perforation is 
frequently smoothed as by continued mo- 
tion against a handle, which would not be 
so in the case of a club. 

3. Some specimens are entirely too small 
to have been of any avail as weapons of 
offense. 

4. The hole is usually so placed that the 
handle would not be at right angles to the 
shell as would be the case with a war club. 

5. The perforation is frequently too small 
to admit a handle of sufficient size to deliver 
a heavy blow without danger of breaking. 

Moreover, Mr. Frank Hamilton Cushing, 
who has recently explored certain shell 




INDIAN NOTES 



I XL AX D PASSAGE 


67 


deposits of the southwestern coast of Flor- 
ida, and who was fortunate enough to find 
a number of these implements with handles 
in place, informs us that in his opinion our 
position in this matter is the correct one. 

These perforated Fidgurs were probably 
in use as picks, hoes, chisels, and the like. 

With a skeleton were three gouges of 
shell, and a similar implement was found 
loose in the sand. 

A drinking cup of shell (Fidgur per- 
versum) lay loose in the sand. 

Two shell pins were met with separately, 
and so far as could be determined, unasso- 
ciated, though, in our opinion, they must 
have rolled from the neighborhood of 
some skeleton. 

Three feet from the surface, with human 
remains and a bone implement, was a 
marine shell (Murex spinicostata) . 12 

MISCELLANEOUS 

A bone piercing implement, with a length 

of f) S liirhps rln^plv rp^pmhlinc tVip nnp 

W i. V.7 . lllV_ilV^O , LlUoUH 1 ^ JV/lllUillit Lilt VJllt 

to which reference has been made, was 
taken from a different portion of the mound. 




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68 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




A canine tooth of a large carnivore lay 
loose in the sand. 




COPPER 




Two very minute fragments of sheet 
copper, found separately, showed the 
former presence of this metal in the mound. 




REMARKS 




As we have stated, nothing that was 
necessarily the product of Europeans came 
from the Light-house mound, and when 
a mound of this size, containing so many 
skeletons, shows no contact with the Whites, 
it is justly regarded by archaeologists as 
having a pre-Columbian origin. 




ST. MARY'S RIVER 




St. Mary's river, having its source in the 
Okefenokee swamp, enters Cumberland 
sound near the town of Fernandina, and 
serves as boundary between portions of 
wcorgid dnci 01 -T loriua. 

The stream, which hardly averages over 
75 yards in breadth, a few miles distant 




INDIAN NOTES 



ST. MARY'S RIVER 


69 


from the sea, is navigable for other than 
small boats to the second railroad bridge, 
a distance of about 30 miles by land, though 
probably double that distance by the river. 

At first the river runs through marsh 
land, though farther up it is bordered by 
firm and at times high ground, mainly 
wooded with a thick growth of pine. The 
river is famous for the excellent quality of 
its water, and one would believe its banks 
to have been a chosen dwelling site for the 
aborigines. 

The river was carefully searched by us 
on either side, all landings and settlements 
being visited, and diligent inquiry made, 
resulting in the conclusion that no mounds 
of importance, and an extremely limited 
number of any size, were present. 

One small mound, partly dug through, 
was found on the Florida side on the 
property of Mr. Haddock, and another, 
about 2 feet in height, was seen at the 
"Brick Yard" a few miles east of King's 
Ferry. So well known along the river was 
this insignificant earthwork that it was 
evident that no mound of importance is 




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70 


FLORIDA MOUNDS 




likely to have escaped our inquiries, made 
as they were at all points where habitations 
were apparent. 

No shell-heaps were noticed on the banks. 

Numbers of stones and fragments of 
rock proved to be ballast from timber 
schooners, and not indigenous to the 
territory. 

NOTES 

1. Mr. Douglass informs us that in his explora- 

tion of more than forty sand mounds on 
the east Florida coast, from the St. Johns 
river to Miami — a distance of 375 miles 
by water — he has never found an article of 
European manufacture. 

2. "Some Characteristics of the Indian Earth 

and Shell Mounds on the Atlantic Coast 
of Florida, " The American Antiquarian, 
March, 1885. 

" Earth and Shell Mounds on the Atlantic 
Coast of Florida," same journal, May, 
1885. 

U A Find of Ceremonial Weapons in a 
Florida Mound, with Brief Notice of Other 
Mounds in that State." From the 
Proceedings of the American Association 
for the Advancement of Science, Vol. XXI. 

3. Coquina, a formation of sand and minute 

shells and fragments of shells. 

4. For figure and description see American 

Naturalist, August, 1893, page 716. 




INDIAN NOTES 



IB 10 3.. 



NOTES 


71 


" Certain shell heaps of the St. Johns 
River, Fla., 4th paper." 

5. There are two mounds on Spruce Creek. 

The one not referred to here is described 
by Mr. Douglass in the first part of his 
article, " Earth and Shell Mounds on the 
Atlantic Coast of Florida," American An- 
tiquarian, May, 1885. Details of the Stone 
House, or Rock House mound, as it is 
variously called, are given in the same 
paper. 

6. The reader is referred to "A Gold Ornament 

from Florida," by A. E. Douglass, Am- 
erican Antiquarian, January, 1890. 

7. Sent to the United States Army Medical 

Museum, Washington, D. C. 

8. This mound must not be confounded with 

the remains of a mound near the water 
works in the suburbs of the town. 

9. July, 1893, page 613. 

10. "Certain Sand Mounds of the St. Johns 

River, Florida.'' Part II, page 157, Jour. 
Acad. Xat. Sci., Vol. X. 

11. The Xecropolis of Ancon. Reiss and 

Stiibel, Berlin. 

12. Determined by Professor H. A. Pilsbry, of 

the Academy of Xatural Sciences. 




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I 



